How does Theo Walcott rank amongst Arsenal GREATS?

The man of the moment. The phoenix from the flames. Lazarus himself. Theo James Walcott.

He is in a superb being of form. Much has been written about it. Many have apologised. Although Lily Allen has yet to apologise to him on behalf of the entire country. He is back to the form of 2012/13 when he scored 21 goals in 43 games. The same season Gareth Bale had his glorious season for that lot up the road, scoring 26 in 44.

Then it went down hill. 2 years of injury followed by last year where he looked done, shot. Over. RIP Theo Walcott. Sleep with the fishes.

And then we come to this season. He has already hit 7 goals in just 9 games. He has hit 5 league goals in each of the last 3 seasons. He already has 5 this season after the first 5 games. In fact, this is already his 4th highest scoring Premier League campaign. And the clocks have not even gone back yet.

Whilst the title was in jest, the comparison between Freddie Ljungberg was clear and obvious. A nice little table I did at the time highlighted how close they are in terms of out put.

Theo Walcott is just 7 goals off the century. 100 goals for Arsenal. He has currently scored 21 goals more than Freddie Ljungberg. He is just 6 short of Paul Merson (who frustratingly fell 1 short of being able to raise his bat to the pavilion).

So just how does Theo Walcott rank amongst the best and brightest of Arsenal goal scorers?

Walcott is currently Arsenal’s 20th highest all time top scorer. Scoring more than the likes of Alan Sunderland (92), Robert Pires (84), Charlie George (49), Ljungberg (72), George Armstrong (68), Liam Brady (59), Charlie Nicholas (54) and Kevin Campbell (59).

But he has played sooooo many games you all moan. Here’s another pretty table:

Out of the 47 players who have scored over 50 goals for The Arsenal, Theo Walcott is 33rd on the list when it comes to games to goals.

The might seem lowly, but it does not take penalties, has rarely played as a striker, and his 1 goal every 3.8 games is still better than other wingers such as Merson (4.3) and Ljungberg (4.6).

So where does Theo Walcott rank?

The answer is a lot better than some would think. He is certainly not one of the worst players to have played in an Arsenal shirt that some make him out to be.

If he continues current form, there is no reason why he should not break into the Top 10 Arsenal goal scorers in the next 18 months. Could he possibly make Top 5? Potentially.

Enjoy Middlesbrough. It’s my first game in nearly a month due to circumstances within my control. Will be good to have a booze up in the usual haunts with my pals.